Writing Center

Northern State University

Topic Sentences and Paragraph Development

What is a topic sentence?

Each paragraph in your paper should have a topic sentence. The purpose of a
topic sentence is to tell your readers what your paragraph will discuss. In other
words, a topic sentence does for a paragraph what a thesis statement does for a
whole paper.

How do I write a topic sentence?

The easiest way to write a topic sentence is to focus on the subject of your
paragraph. Then ask yourself what you want to say about that subject. In other
words, what direction do you want to take with your subject? The answer
becomes your topic sentence, as in the following example:
Subject: second-hand smoke
Direction: recognized as a health hazard
Topic Sentence: Second-hand smoke is recognized as a health hazard.

How do I develop a paragraph from a topic sentence?

Your topic sentence gives your reader general information about a topic. As you
develop your paragraph, you provide your reader with specific information about
that topic. One way to do this is to ask yourself the same questions that journalists
ask—who, what, where, when, why, how. The answers to these questions become
the information you can use to develop your paragraph, as in the following
example:
Topic Sentence: Second-hand smoke is recognized as a health hazard.
Questions to develop paragraph: What is second-hand smoke?
Who does it affect?
When does it affect them?
Where does it affect them?
Why is it a health hazard?
How is it being recognized?
What is being done about the problem?
Of course, you might not use all this information in one paragraph. You might
decide to split it into two or even three paragraphs, each one with its own topic
sentence.
Another way to develop your paragraphs is through the use of examples. These
examples can come from your own personal experience or through research. If
you knew someone who did not smoke but developed lung cancer from being
around second-hand smoke on a regular basis, you could use that person as an
example to develop your paragraph.

What is a topic sentence outline?

A topic sentence outline of a paper is similar to a general outline. However,
instead of simply listing the main ideas to be discussed, each point in the outline
becomes a topic sentence for a paragraph, as in the following example:
Thesis: Second-hand smoke is a serious health risk, but efforts are being made to
solve this problem.
1. Second-hand smoke affects many people in many different places.
(Give definition of second-hand smoke and examples of public and private
locations where it affects people.)
2. Second-hand smoke is recognized as a health hazard.
(Explain why and give example from Surgeon General’s report as well as
personal example.)
3. Steps are being taken to prevent the public from second-hand smoke.
(Examples of laws prohibiting smoking in various public places.)
This outline also explains the development of each paragraph.